Berg ditches Dune

It doesn't look like filmmaker Peter Berg (THE KINGDOM, HANCOCK) will be the guy to tell us the secret of the spice.

According to Pajiba (and corroborated by CHUD), Berg has left the adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi story DUNE.

But Paramount reportedly isn't ready to let the project sink into the sands of Arrakis -- they're on the hunt for a suitable replacement and have supposedly approached DISTRICT 9's Neill Blomkamp and Neil Marshall (DOG SOLDIERS, THE DESCENT, DOOMSDAY). Either of which would probably be a good match to the material... if the $175 million movie even gets made.

Before his dubious decision to make a movie based on the board game BATTLESHIP, Berg claimed he wanted his vision of DUNE to be more "dynamic" and "possibly even a little bit more fun" than previous versions of the epic tale of feuding empires and worm spice. But instead: C6. Hit!

Extra Tidbit:

Before becoming the hottie we know, firetop Alicia Witt played spooky Dune child Alia in David Lynch's 1984 film.